The Fishing Reel Patent Archive

The mechanical heart of American angling

Raised pillar

Patent drawing showing a circular skeleton fishing reel mounted on a rod section, with a central rotating disk, divided peripheral rings forming a tubular ring for line, and a side handle for winding, alongside detail views of the ring components and mounting plate.FISHING-REEL.William Billinghurst · August 9, 1859Patent drawing of a fishing reel showing a circular skeleton spool with radiating ribs inside a banded frame, a crank handle, and a side view of the spool's stamped sheet-metal construction.IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-REELS.Anson Hatch · June 19, 1866Cross-sectional line drawing of a fishing reel showing the spool D mounted between two head plates C and B, with gear teeth F, a crank handle G with wooden knob, and labeled parts including center pins E and E2, spindle H, and set-screw a, mounted on a vertical pillar frame A.IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-LINE REELS.A. B. Hartill · August 7, 1866Patent drawing of a 19th-century multiplying fishing reel showing an assembled perspective view with crank handle, an internal gear view, a cross-section revealing the spool and pinion, and a detached bridge plate.IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-REELS.Silas B. Terry · November 14, 1871Patent drawing of a circular fishing reel showing a perspective view with crank handle and cross-bar frame (Fig. 1), a cross-sectional side view (Fig. 2), and an internal view of the click mechanism with ratchet, dog, and spring (Fig. 3).IMPROVEMENT IN REELS FOR FISHING-LINESFrancis J. Philbrook · June 12, 1877Perspective patent drawing of a fishing reel mounted on a rod handle, showing the spooled reel, side frames labeled B, a crank with wooden handle, and a small line-guide pulley labeled G and E mounted on a cross-bar above the spool, with smaller detail figures below showing the pulley and bar mechanism.LINE-REEL FOR FISHING-TACKLE.Charles H. Briggs · September 8, 1885Patent drawing of a nineteenth-century multiplying fishing reel showing the side plates, hand crank, internal gear wheel and pinion, bow-spring drag lever with thumb piece, and click-spring mechanism labeled with reference letters across eight figures.FISHING-REEL.Thomas Henry Chubb · September 27, 1887Patent drawing sheet showing nine views of a multiplying fishing reel, including a perspective view with crank handle, side and end views revealing internal gears, and enlarged detail sections of the eccentric stud and tie-plate construction.FISHING-REEL.Charles K. Bradford · May 21, 1889Patent drawing of a Victorian fishing reel showing a front plan view with a spoked outer disk and central click mechanism, plus two side-section views revealing internal gears, screws, and a hollow oiling stud.FISHING-REEL.Charles M. Clinton · October 29, 1889Patent drawing of a fishing reel showing a circular end view with crank and gears, a longitudinal cross-section revealing the internal spool and brake mechanism, and an inner face view of the detachable end plate with ratchet and pawl.FISHING-REEL.Ernest Holzmann · March 4, 1890Patent drawing showing a fishing reel mounted on a rod, with a spoked bobbin wheel, a lever-and-spindle brake mechanism, and several small detail views of the friction plates, collar, nut, and spring components.FISHING-REEL.James H. Mount · November 1, 1892Patent drawing sheets showing cross-sections and elevations of a spring-actuated fishing reel with a hollow rod handle housing a coiled spring, gear train, friction brake wheel, and a detachable reel plate with labeled parts A through W and section views Fig.1 through Fig.6.FISHING-REELJoseph Singer · February 14, 1893Patent drawing of a fishing reel mounted on a pole, showing the circular reel case with internal gears, a pivoted brake shoe and trip lever, plus several detail views of the brake and gear-shifting mechanism.FISHING-REEL.Harrison H. Heskett · May 2, 1893Patent drawing of a fishing rod reel showing the internal gear mechanism, including a pinion and master wheel with crank, mounted between metal side plates, with three figures illustrating the plan view, side elevation, and cross-section of the driving gear case.FISHING-REELCarl Wiebeck · February 20, 1894